Bazza in Vegas

Well started off on Wednesday night when I flew down to Gatwick and spent the night in the Holiday Inn. Decided to fly down the night before just to avoid any mishaps, nothing could go wrong could it? Well I woke in the morning and was shattered so decided to have an extra half hour in bed, I calculated that I still would have plenty of time however I failed to account for a number of factors a) I hadn't been able to check in online due to problem with their system so would have to do it at airport b) travelling time to the airport, shuttle buses ran every half hour and I faled to note the times they ran at c) the potential for a rather large queue at the check in desk.

Eventually I manage to drag my carcas out of bed and meander down to check out and get shuttle bus to airport. I checked times and realised I'd just missed a bus, hmm ok cutting it a bit fine now, so I went and asked thedesk to get me a taxi. "No problem sir" said the man, he calls them and then tells me "it will be here in 20minutes sir", eh wtf? that ain't no use to me so I decide just to wait for the shuttle bus after he confirmed that it is reliable and always on time...he was right. So off to the airport I go, whence there I follow the signs for departures only to reach the check in desk to be met with a queue that was zigzagged umpteen times...oh dear. Then I remember about the DIY check in kiosks so all is well. Checked in, ready to go and off I trek to the departure gate.

The flight itself was decent considering I'm not the worlds greatest flyer and the 9hrs 45mins seemed to go in relatively quickly. The first thing I notice about Vegas is the suffocating heat. I havebeen to warmer climes in the past but never experienced anything as hot as this. So that was me here in Las Vegas, It was late Thursday afternoon andI didn't play until Sunday, plenty of time to get acclimatised.

Its Vegas and everyone has fun in Vegas don't they?? Well not me lol, I was generally underwhelmed by everything. I was bored and pissed off due to a lack of sleep, and just really wanted to get underway. Eventually Sunday arrived and my preparation for the biggest game of my life didn't exactly go according to plan. 2.30am I wake up and an then unable to get back to sleep due to booming music aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhh. FFS just what I need. So i can do nothing but wish the hours away. Eventually it is time to get ready and head down to thr Rio. My eyes are blearly and my head is pounding and it would be fair to say I wasn't in ideal shape for a 15hour (including breaks) poker marathon.

Pokerstars were putting on a breakfast for those playing so thought I might as well head down to that for some sustinence to try and get me through the day. When I get there I witness the rather comical sight of 2 members of Pokerstars staff trying to explain to a middle aged European gentleman who spoke very little English that only he and not his wife was entitled to the breakfast. Having seen this and been told in advance that you were only entitled to the breakfast on the day you were playing (they had a sheet where the checked your name) I was expecting a banquet fit for a King, alas it was not even a banquet fit for a Bazza. Tight fuckers.

Anyway the time had arrived and my main event was about to kick off. I take my seat and I'm pretty happy when I notice that half the table is made up of online qualfiers (2 from Party, 2 from Pacific and one from Bodog). Jeniffer Harmans other half was also at the table (Marco something or other) and seat 8 was empty, it was to be filled some 20mins into the game by Simon Trumper turning up fashionably late.

I Started off pretty slowly went down to 9k after losing a couple of small pots then got myself back up to 10k when my 1st big hand arrived. I limped in MP with T9o with one limper before me, button also limps and Simon Trumper who had been raising a lot of pots makes it 300, 1st limper (worst player on table) calls so I call as does the button. Flop comes J84 and ST leads for 900, muppet to my right smooth calls as do I button folds. turn is 7 and its checked to me and I bet 2k..they both call, river is a nice and safe and St leads for 1175 and muppet calls. I have 5kish back and move in, they both pass, ST said he had set of 8's.

That shoots me up to 19k and I dont deviate much from that mark for next few hours.An aggresive scandi joined the table with a stack and rudely began raising every other pot. i pick up AQo utg+1 andmake it 800 (blinds 100/200), I get 4 callers, flop comes AJ4 and I lead for 1800, scandi calls, turn is a 2 and it goes check check river is 4 and i check call his bet of 4.5k...he mucks. that was me up to 30k+.

Next level came a big hand Joe Hachems cousin (Tony Hachem) was sat to my right and he had seemingly been playing pretty solid aggresive stuff. It was folded to him in the SB and he made it 1100, I look down at TT and elect to smooth call flop comes T87 and he leads for 3k, I raise to 8k which he calls. turn is a blank and he bets out basically committing himself, I move in and he calls with AT, he was evidently a non-believer!! That got me up to 50kish and gave me a sizeable chip lead, and I was able to use that stack to pretty much control the table and finished the day on 65,200 (39th of the 861 who made it through). Not a bad days work if I do say so myself.

I played very very well today (even if I do say so myself) without picking up any big hands preflop (nothing better than Jacks until I saw Aces with 50mins of the days play remaining). In the past few months my game as come on leaps and bounds and yesterday I believe I took it up another level. Prior to yesterday I had never felt totally comfortable playing live. I had very little live experience and no results to speak of but I realised the importance of building a strong table image, I had given it a lot of thought and had a plan of action, which seemed to work. When I had the goods they paid me and when I didn't they passed...long may it continue.

It was a helluva long day, 1st time I had played a live event for so long (6X 2hr levels) and was pretty drained by the end of it and took my foot off the accelerator in the last hour, I know I this was the time to pressurise the table with my stack but with fatigue now well and truly set in I didn't want to be making any mistakes and was more than happy to take my 65k onto day 2.

So it was off back to the hotel for some much needed shut eye, only problem was I had consumed copious amounts of red bull to get me through the day (15-20 cans), my heart was racing and my eyes were bulging..can't be good for you lol and it was after 6 before I got to sleep and I was awoken at 11.30 with the sound of a bloody pneumatic drill, wtf does a man have to do to get some sleep in this place.

Anyways time for some much needed food, then I think ill go and slap on the factor 75 and chill out poolside today as i prepare for day 2 on Wednesday.

Thankfully it aint always this tough

From one extreme to the other, past few days I have been running well, today has been a bloody nightmare. I have had to battle, scratch and claw for everything today, nothing came easy, missed every flop, missed every draw, when I had a hand someone had a better one, that kind of stuff, and to top it all off I wasn't playing particularly well. The staggering thing is I still managed to turn in a profit (just), and it could have been even better had i not lost HU in my last 2 sixpaks.

One of the (many) weaknesses in my game in the past was the mental side of the game. I had a propensity to tilt all to easily when things weren't going my way, but I have been trying to eliminate that from my game and so far so good. I know that had I had a day like today a few months back theres no way I'd have been able to turn it round and show a profit, I'd have been throwing good money after bad. Then I'd get up the next day and be pissed off with myself for tilting so I'd go piss some more money away whilst still tilting like a maniac. Controlling these dark forces is one of my main objectives in the coming months. Another is to give each and every game I play my full attention. In the past I'd have games running whilst reading forum, writing emails and chatting on MSN, well I discovered that this guy ain't no good at multitasking, so when I'm playing now I generally only have the poker software running and some music playing.

As for the sixpaks, well I'm still enjoying playing them. I have seen nothing to fear and I know that so long as I bring my "A" game I'll have a lot more winning days than losing days. The pool of players is not that large so ultimately I end up playing against the same players day in day out, so I've been spending a lot of time building up my notes this week, particularly on the "regulars".

Time for some shut-eye as I plan on getting up early to watch some golf in the morning.

Oh and this time next week I'll be in Vegas :-)

If only it was always this easy!!

Just a quick update. I Havn't really played much past couple of days but I have still been running well :). I know I said I'd be putting in the hours but to be honest I'm inherently lazy and I look at guys like Buzzer, Hawko etc playing umpteen tables at a time for hours on end and think to myself how the fuck do they do it, I'm happy with my 2/3 tables :).

I have played solely the £60 sixpaks on crypto and I'm delighted with how things are going. So far I've played 48 and I'm showing a profit of £1602, ROI of 50.5%, if only that was sustainable in the long run, but I know a run of beats is just around the corner LOL. However I do feel a long run ROI of >20% is achievable. I am now playing under a new WH account due to them offering me a better rakeback deal...it must be golden :).

Oh and its only 8 days until Vegas so its all good :)

Nothing much to report...

....and that just about covers it.

Played a few 6pacs on the devilish crypto site..did ok, played a few mtt's didn't do ok, and thats about the sum total from the past few days. Had intended to play a bit more this week but just havn't felt in the mood and when I have played I havn't felt comfortable, confident or in the zone.

I havn't played today so far, I may play a few games later but for now I'm off to watch Rangers v Jomo Cosmos, only 15days until season kicks off and I will miss it :-(, one downside of qualifying for the WSOP, I also miss the second game as well, but I'm certain we will have 6 points in the bag by the time I return. I don't remember ever looking forward to a new season with so much anticipation and I will be having a chunk on Rangers to win the title @5/4...stick on IMO. Anyways kick-off is in 15mins and I'm out of beer....


.....ok watched game, typical pre-season crap, but it was a win and the new signings looked capable, difficult to take anything from the game though as it was played at walking pace.

Decided to play a handful of 6pacs tonight...the standard truly is poor...and that is just from the players that are winning (according to sharkscope). Past couple of days I've played 10 £60's winning 3 and 2nd in 2 coupled with 2 sick bubbles. Think I will start playing them more often as there does seem to be money to be made. Will hopefully be able to motivate myself and put in some hours this weekend.

The Story to Date

I started playing this game almost 2 years ago. I was on holiday from work at the time and received an email from Betfair telling me about their poker site. I had seen it played on TV from time to time and I'd always wanted to give it a go...well now was the time.

Within an hour I was sat playing Limit cash...I lost, always likely to happen when you barely know the hand rankings. Anyways not to be deterred I did some reading and thought I had a rough idea of how to play the game and came back the following day....and lost again. Now this continued for a few days before I discovered tournaments...I lost at them as well.

Gradually however my understanding of the game developed and the losses slowed down and before long I was actually showing a profit, and after 6 months of playing I was making a decent return from the game, picking up some decent four figure cashes in a few online multis..everything seemed easy. For the next few months everything was easy, there were ups and downs but the ups were significantly greater than the downs and life was good. I then had my biggest cash to date when I picked up 2nd in the weekly Sunday tournament on Crypto (think it was 40k GTD at the time) for a tasty 6.3k then a couple of months later I qualified for my first ever offline tournament, the EPT event in Baden.

Then things turned sour..I couldn't beat an egg, day after day week after week I was shipping money left right and centre. Mixture of tilt, bad luck and downright crap play was responsible. At this point I was predominantly playing MTTs with the odd ill advised foray onto the cash tables, and to be honest at the time my game selection was awful. This continued until the start of this year when I decided I had to make changes..I didn't have an infinite supply of cash that I could piss away day after day after day. Changes had to be made, and first to go was the cash tables, I don't have the correct mindset to play them, I am far too prone to tilting and throwing away one weeks profit in the space of a few hours. Next to go was the number of MTTs I played, I reduced them dramatically and was far more selective in choosing which tourneys I did play. So that basically left me with SnG's to rebuild the bankroll. I started off playing the 6paks on Crypto before moving over to Pokerstars where I now play the majority of my poker.

Things started to pick up and the bankroll was being rebuilt at a steady rate, was frustrating at first playing at lower stakes than I was used to but I just had to get on with it. My game was improving and my confidence was being rebuilt. This carried on for a couple of months until I felt I was getting stale playing solely STT's (I get bored easily), so decided to spend a week playing some multis. Things started well, made 3 final tables out of 5 played on Stars, no big payouts but helped to build the confidence. Then on the Sunday (21st May) I decided to play a sat for the $1m on Stars, whilst playing I had a look at the lobby and noticed a $25 rebuy sat for the $650 WSOP qualifier was about to start. Last year I mist have pissed away around £1k trying to qualify and didn't get close and this year due to the bad run I had I had no intention of even trying to qualify, however I thought what the hell I might as well give it a go. A few hours later I had a seat in the $1m and the WSOP qualifier, despite some skullduggery in the WSOP sat. I was 2 hands away from being allin on my BB on the bubble, however on other table the BB was allin, inexplicably UTG moves allin and obviously the rest fold...he turns over 94o v the BB's T8 but the 9 landed and I had my seat in the qualifier which kicked off at 11pm that night.

The structure is great with 30min levels and 2500 starting stacks there are 474 runners with 26 seats. Things start well and I hit a couple of flops early and build up a decent stack before I lost a big pot with 200ish left which put me in trouble, my stack kept on dwindling and at one point I was down to 5BB's and that WSOP seat looked a long way off. Anyway I battled on and slowly managed to rebuild my stack, details are a bit hazy now but I do recall getting lucky when I pushed with T9s from the SB and BB called with 99 and the 10 landed. Slowly but surely other started to fall and before I knew it there were only 50 left, I was below ave stack but that seat was moving ever closer. Only 24 to go and I knew a few of them would dig their own graves with awful calls/plays. I was still below average but managed to maintain my stack with the odd steal here and there (I picked up no big hands). I was in desperate need of chips when this hand cropped up (can't find the HH but I posted it and my thoughts on blondepoker)

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=10641.0

Once I won that hand I knew the seat was mine and at 7.30am it was confirmed when the unfortunate bubble boy was KO'd. Happy days....oh and I cashed in the $1m as well. Since then my good form has continued with some decent results, most notably winning the 5000euro added on Betfair for £3300, I also had a good run in the $1m on Stars but faltered in 40th when my JJ ran into the chip leaders AA for a $1900 payout.

With the World Cup and what not I have hardly played in last month or so but I have developed a habit of blowing big chip leads on FT's, twice I have had the chip lead going onto the FT in the 15k on Crypto only to finish 7th, one was not amused. Anyways think thats enough for now, will be playing a bit more in the next week or two before I head to Vegas...16 days and counting :)

Bazza